Russian Meteor Crash Linked to Mass Extinction

Dozens of videos of the Russian meteor were uploaded to Youtube soon after impact on the morning of Feb. 15, 2013, many of which originated from vehicle dashboard cameras (or "dash cams"). During the morning commute many drivers saw the bright orb grow and explode in the atmosphere. The resulting shock wave caused windows to blow out over a huge area injuring over 1,000 people -- mainly cuts and minor concussions.

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The fireball light was as bright as a second sun for a brief moment before it broke up over the Urals region of Russia.

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As seen in this CCTV footage, the meteor created its own shadows as it exploded during the morning commute.

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The meteor contrail hung over the Urals city of Chelyabinsk, about 900 miles east of Moscow, for some time after impact.

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A white contrail left by the meteor break-up over Chelyabinsk.

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A building damaged by the meteor shock wave in the town of Kopeisk, Chelyabinsk Region. The windows were blown out by the powerful shock wave generated by the hypersonic meteor.

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Damage to a pancake bar caused by the shock wave of a meteor in the town of Kopeisk, Chelyabinsk Region.

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Damaged caused to the office of a local newspaper in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk by the shock wave of the meteor.

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A shopper walks past a broken shop window caused by the meteor explosion over the Urals city of Chelyabinsk.

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The meteor traveled faster than sound in the upper atmosphere, creating a powerful sonic boom that slammed into the populated Urals region -- the foce of the blast blew out windows and caused structural damage to some buildings.

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Damage caused by the shock wave of a meteor that passed above the Urals city of Chelyabinsk on Feb. 15, 2013.

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Bricks from a factory wall knocked down by the force of the meteor shock wave litter a street in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk.

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A collection of small meteorite fragments found in the snow after the Feb. 15, 2013 airbust event.

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A man holding meteorite fragments found near the Chebarkul Lake.

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Detail of one of the suspected meteorite fragments recovered from Russia's Chelyabinsk region.

New evidence implicates one of Earth's biggest impact craters in a mass extinction that occurred 33.7 million years ago, according to research presented here Wednesday (June 11) at the annual Goldschmidt geochemistry conference.

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles precisely dated rocks from beneath the Popigai impact crater in remote Siberia to the Eocene epoch mass extinction that occurred 33.7 million years ago. Popigai crater is one of the 10 biggest impact craters on Earth, and in 2012, Russian scientists claimed the crater harbors a gigantic industrial diamond deposit.

The new age, which is later than other estimates, means the Eocene extinction — long blamed on climate change — now has another prime suspect: an "impact winter." Meteorite blasts can trigger a deadly global chill by blanketing the Earth's atmosphere with tiny particles that reflect the sun's heat. [Crash! 10 Biggest Impact Craters on Earth]

Asteroids reach Earth's atmosphere every day — but only the biggest make it to the ground.

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"I don't think this will be the smoking gun, but it reopens the door to Popigai being involved in the mass extinction," said lead study author Matt Wielicki, a UCLA graduate student.

This isn't the first time flying space rocks have been implicated in the Eocene's mass die-offs. Other possible culprits besides Popigai crater include three smaller Earth-meteorite smashups between 35 million and 36 million years ago: Chesapeake Bay crater offshore Virginia, Toms Canyon crater offshore New Jersey and Mistastin crater in Labrador, Canada.

Previously, all four craters were ruled out because of their ages. Earlier dating attempts had pinned Popigai's impact age at 35.7 million years ago, Wielicki said. And 2 million years is too much of a time lag between a meteorite blast and disappearing species, he said. The cosmic impact that killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago coincides in time with its extinction by just 33,000 years, according to the most precise dating techniques available.